Monthly Archives: April 2011

In 1984, Muhammad Ali was a 42 years old former boxing champion who recently had to figure out how to live with his tremors, slurred speech and slow movements. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Ali fought late into his life; and especially his last two fights, Holmes (above) and Berbick, left him battered and bruised… to say the least.

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There are many people that believe Ali would have developed PD even if he lived a life as a quiet librarian, since the evidence linking boxing-related head trauma to development of PD is still controversial.

However, there’s another group that believe in a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.

Another case-controlled study examined environmental risk of PD. This study found that head injury (OR=6.23) that occurred on average 37yrs prior to diagnosis was the strongest risk-factor for PD… Though you have to keep-in-mind people have a hard time remembering these events or may attach greater significance to them in hindsight, i.e.”recall bias”.

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Consumption

After you ingest caffeine, it is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream and becomes metabolized in the liver. *90% of caffeine (from 12oz coffee) is cleared from the stomach in 20mins!

The cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown. What we do know is that it is a combination of environmental and genetic factors that lead to its development.

Research (link here) shows coffee, cigarettes and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e. ibuprofen) are associated with lower risk of developing PD… BUT, becoming a quad-americano regular with a pack-a-day habit is probably going to do more harm than good.

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1.

cigarettes

It has been suggested that the association of cigarettes is due to the fact that:

1. persons with PD exhibit personality differences; for example, persons predestined to get PD are more likely to choose not to smoke, due to their inherent neuropsychological states (personality) that are influencing lifestyle behaviors

2. nicotine may stimulate dopamine release (the chemical that is degenerated in PD), and can therefore suppress signs of PD

(Morens, Grandinetti, Reed, White, & Ross, 1995)

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2.

1. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant (adenosine receptor antagonism). Caffeine may act to remove inhibition of dopamine neurotransmission (caffeine and dopamine share similar receptors) and thereby increases dopamine release. So basically, it can be a form of self-medication that decreases clinical expression of Parkinsonism.

3.

1. inhibit cyclooxygenaze enzymes involved in inflammation. The inflammatory process have been implicated in PD pathology (due to glial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines).

2. have been shown to reduce loss of dopamine and associated neurons

3. are hydroxyl-radical scavengers (i.e. clean-up free radicals, which may play a critical role in PD occurrence)

(Chen, Zhang, Miguel et al., Arch Neurol 2003)

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Just a note,

…this information needs to be digested with caution. A lot of this research is done by statistical analysis of medical records and health history, and there is a fine line between “associations” (a possible common etiological factor) and direct “cause-and-effect”.

So PLEASE, don’t grab a pack of smokes, pop some aspirin and chug a double-double on your way home… much love.

coming soon… Part 2: diet, dairy, head trauma and risk of Parkinson’s disease

my data collection (all 12 months of it!) has taught me the art of patience (especially for technology!) and to be grateful for what you get (even if it’s only 0.36 secs out of 6.5 hrs of work!)

… though it wasn’t a perfect run of data in Van (some battery problems and memory card errors) – I met some amazing people who made it all worthwhile! I am so appreciative of all my participants time; they generously let me into their home and allowed me to track their every move (muscle, step, heart, activity, GPS). much love.

I have been so fortunate to be involved with this amazing community… The intentions of today are not only to bring awareness to this disease and but also to foster hope that a cure is around the corner.

Please visit www.parkinson.ca and see how you can get involved and improve the lives of people living with PD! much love.